Before the Avengers
by JoMiSm
Summary: Prequel to my Michelle Chronicles. Michelle had a life, a mom, a dad, friends... Then Manhattan. You know the post-Manhattan Michelle... Let's take a look at her past. Starts in ironman 2, ends at Avengers eventually.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi! For those few people who know Michelle's dad's name, it will be changed. I decided I didn't want it to be what it previously was. Michelle's dad is William, or Will, and her mom is Angie. Michelle may go by nicknames later, like 'chelle. Anyway, this is before Avengers Christmas, at Ironman 2**_** time.**

* * *

"Good morning, Mom." said Michelle cheerfully, walking into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?" Michelle casually sat down her backpack beside her chair.

Michelle's mother turned around, her green eyes and raven hair just like her daughters. She'd just been watching the news, and her expression was vaguely troubled. "Pancakes." she said softly, setting them in front of her young daughter and turning back to the TV.

"What's wrong?" asked Michelle. Though she was only seven, she was perceptive. ...Though that didn't stop her from taking a bite of pancakes.

"Nothing, honey, eat your pancakes or you'll be late." said Angie, switching off the television. She turned back around cheerfully, and the instant was forgotten.

Soon, Michelle was off to the school bus, and Angie sat on the couch with her coffee. She didn't start her shift until noon, and it wasn't even seven o' clock yet. Quickly, she turned on the TV.

The news anchor continued what she'd been saying. "And, still at the Grand Prix, the man who has been confirmed as Ivan Vanko has been detained. He is believed to be a solo terrorist, but there has been no confirmation-"

"Morning, Honey," said Michelle's father, walking out of his bedroom. Noting her worried expression, he continued. "What's wrong?" He continued trying to straighten his tie.

"Someone attacked Tony Stark at the Grand Prix." said Angie, straightening her husband's tie easily. The television continued in the background.

"Is he alright?" asked William.

"Yes, they say he's fine, no deaths..." said Angie, going back to the TV worriedly.

"Then you're worried why...?"

"He had ironman tech." said Angie, twirling her hair around one finger, a nervous habit.

"But I thought he said they were twenty years off-"

"He did. That's what worries me. What if he isn't alone...? This could become big." She took another sip of coffee and looked up at her husband.

He sat beside her, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Nothing'll happen." His wife looked doubtful for a moment, then relieved.

"I guess you're right." she sighed. "Now go, or you'll be late for work." Angie said.

"Bye, Hon." He said, grabbing his jacket and walking out the door with a parting hug.

Angie sat back in front of the news with a sigh. She just couldn't shake the feeling something bad was going to come of this.

* * *

Michelle arrived at school on time, thanks to her mom. As she sat at her seat, she heard bits of the whispers around her.

"Did you hear what happened to Tony Stark?"

"Yeah, that guy-"

"He had, like, electric whips!"

"Wait, what?" said Michelle, looking at her best friend, Meredith.

"Tony Stark was attacked-" Meredith started excitedly.

"Class, Class, settle down." said Ms. O' Reilly. "You have plenty of time to gossip at recess." She promptly turned and began the literacy lesson.

Meredith and Michelle exchanged a look. They'd just have to wait until lunch- Ms. O' Reilly was the meanest teacher in the school.

* * *

Angie arrived home from work at six.

"Hey Mom," called Michelle from the living room. "Did you hear why happened to Mr. Stark?"

Angie sat her keys on the counter, shrugging off her jacket. "Yes, I did." she replied, walking into the living room.

"Well..." said Michelle, turning up the television's volume.

"It has been leaked that Ivan Vanko has escaped from the maximum security prison he was being held in earlier today. No one is aware of his whereabouts, but his target appears to be Tony Stark. People in the Manhattan area are advised to be careful-"

Angie didn't even hesitate as she turned off the TV quickly and pulled down the shades on the window. "Go to your room."

"Mom, stop overreacting," started Michelle, starting to get a little worried at her mother's actions.

"I said _go to your room_." said Angie, not hiding the fear in her eyes as she looked at her little girl. Michelle's face got serious and she scrambled out of the room in an instant. A moment later, the door opened in the other room, William walking in the door, blissfully ignorant of the situation.

"Hey-what are you doing?" William asked as Angie locked the door behind him quickly.

"He escaped from prison." she said quickly, darting around and locking all of the windows before re-drawing the shades.

"Wait, who escaped from prison?" asked William, hanging his jacket with a concerned look.

"Ivan Vanko, the man who attacked Tony Stark." She turned to look at him, frightened. "Will, they think he's in Manhattan-!" She choked out, looking toward her daughter's room. If anything happened to Michelle, she didn't know what she'd do.

"Does she know?" Will asked. Angie nodded. "I'll go check on her. Just... Start dinner and act like everything's fine. We shouldn't scare her."

Angie nodded, heading toward the kitchen. William headed the opposite way, toward their daughter.

Everything would turn out fine... It had to, right?

* * *

_**Yep! You meet the elusive Angie! And you all know what happens to her... But if you're starting the series here, I'm sorry for what ends up happening. I truly am. Review if I should continue. **_

_**-JoMiSm**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Aww, thanks guys. :D **_

_**Disclaimer I think I forgot: Okay, you caught me. I secretly own the Avengers. That's why I'm on a fanfiction site. *pokerface***_

* * *

Angie and William argued late into the night in soft whispers about whether or not they should go to the Stark Expo. On one hand, Michelle'd been looking forward to it, and it would only worry her more if they kept her in the apartment. On the other hand, that might be the most dangerous place to be. Finally, they decided to go. There'd been no reports of Vanko in a week, and everything seemed to settle back to normal.

"Michelle, come on." called Angie, putting on her earrings. "We're going to be late."

"Coming, Mom!" called Michelle, skipping in in her cute, colorful dress. Michelle's mother smiled at her adorable young daughter.

"Okay, let's go. Your Dad said he'd meet us down there." said Angie, leading Michelle out the door and to the elevator.

William had won free tickets in a raffle at work, so they didn't have to pay the insanely inflated prices. Not only that, they were VIP accessible.

A little bit of driving in Manhattan traffic later, they arrived at the Stark Expo, and Michelle spotted her father.

"Daddy!" she called, waving. He caught sight of her and wove through the crowd.

"Michelle!" He said, picking her up and twirling her around. "You look fabulous."

Michelle struck a pose. "I know." she deadpanned, joking.

William kissed his wife on the cheek, then putting the VIP access cards over their necks. "Okay, out of this crowd. We can use the VIP entrance."

They waded their way to their seats, sitting beside two red-headed women. As they had a while to wait, Michelle looked around at her neighbors in the audience.

"Excuse me?" said Michelle meekly, tapping the woman with the darker red hair on the arm.

The woman looked down at the random little girl sitting beside her. "Yes?"

"Is she... Does she look like Virginia Potts to you, too?" asked Michelle quietly, gesturing to the lighter-haired woman.

"I'd be alarmed if she didn't. That is Virginia Potts." said the still-unnamed woman.

Michelle looked surprised. "Really?" She glanced at Virginia again, then looking back at the woman. "Who're you?" Michelle asked in that frank little-girl way.

"Natalie Rushman." replied Natalie after a moment.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Rushman." said Michelle, extending her hand. "I'm Michelle."

They shook hands, and both looked up sharply when music turned on.

Justin Hammer badly danced onto the stage. Michelle looked up at her mother and giggled about the same time Pepper gave Natalie a severely unimpressed look.

As Hammer began his intro, Michelle tuned him out, bored. Where's ironman? That's the whole reason she wanted to come!

Suddenly, she was startled out of her thought by Hammer introducing the Navy, Air force, and Army drones. He began talking about how they'd replace humans. Michelle was alarmed. What about Uncle Jason? He was in the army! They couldn't take him out of the army; he loved it!

Michelle started to ask her mother, but she looked engrossed in the presentation. Instead, she turned to Natalie. "Miss Rushman...?" Natalie looked down at her questioningly. "They can't really replace humans in the military, can they?" asked Michelle, looking extremely worried.

Natalie's expression softened. "I doubt it'll work out. They can't replace humans completely." They both looked up, appearing startled, though Michelle was the only one who really was. Michelle cheered when she saw that it was ironman.

Only a moment later, the droids began to attack not only Tony Stark, but the crowd as well. An explosion threw Michelle one way, Angie and William the other. Michelle cried out, and then she was suddenly stood on her feet. Everything moving in fast-motion, a droid was in front of Michelle, target locked on her.

Stumbling backward, she screamed, shutting her eyes. When she opened them, Natalie was standing over the demolished drone, still in a defensive stance. A second later, Natalie walked over to Michelle, gently picking her up. "Where are your parents?" Yelled Natalie over the pandemonium.

Michelle, trembling, pointed over to her dazed parents lying on the ground. Natalie sat her down beside them, Angie pulling her daughter to her. Before anyone could thank her, Natalie was following her boss up the stairs, quite a distance away.

"Come on!" Yelled Michelle's father, pulling them to their feet. Angie pulled off her high heels as they sprinted toward the parking lot. Quite suddenly, like this whole disaster, ironman, a silver ironman, and droids flew over them. William shoved his family to the ground abruptly, shielding them with his body. A fiery explosion erupted behind them.

Michelle, Angie, and William looked at the smoldering remains of their car. "I don't think insurance will cover that." deadpanned William.

Angie gave him an unimpressed look.

"Where should we go now?" Michelle asked, frightened.

"We're gonna have to walk." Angie said softly. They stood, but Michelle's legs trembled. William swiftly picked up his daughter, and they began the walk.

Almost an hour of walking past bumper-to-bumper traffic later, they finally got back to the apartment. Michelle'd been switched between her parents several times, and she was now asleep in her mother's arms.

"We shouldn't have gone." whispered Angie regretfully.

"We couldn't have known that would happen." William softly replied, opening the door.

"We still shouldn't have brought Michelle... She could've been hurt!" Angie whispered back. William nodded in regret.

After tucking in their still-slumbering daughter, Angie pulled on a more comfortable pair of shoes. "They'll need me at the hospital." she said. William pulled her into a longer-than-usual hug. He could've lost her, or his daughter. Either of those options would've killed him.

"I love you." he said, and his voice portrayed his fears.

"I love you, too." Angie said, lifting his chin to look at her. "I'm fine. Don't worry." she said consolingly. With a parting wave, she left for the hospital.

William, with a sigh, sat on the couch. He flipped through the channels to the news, watching to see the result of the attack on the expo.

"And it appears Justin Hammer was working with Ivan Vanko..."

* * *

_**I couldn't resist. I mean, Natasha is so epic. ;) bye! **_

_**-JoMiSm**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Someone mentioned I went through Ironman 2 pretty fast. Sorry! Thor time to Avengers time lasts several months in my book, so I will go slower. Btw, I leave for vacation in a week. I'm trying to update all of my stories before then. **_

* * *

Michelle awoke on time the next day. Her mother was still at the hospital, where she'd been all night. Michelle was surprised when she walked into the kitchen and her mother wasn't there.

"Dad?" called Michelle.

"Yes?" William said, hurrying into the kitchen. The paranoia that something would happen to his family wouldn't go away.

"Where's mom?" Michelle asked, not aware of her father's plight.

"Oh, she went to help at the hospital last night." said her father, rummaging in a cabinet. Inwardly, he was relieved.

"Oh." Michelle said, taking the cereal from her father. After pouring themselves a bowl, Michelle and her father sat in silence, contemplating the events of the previous night.

Finally, the time came for the bus, and Michelle walked out of the apartment with her father. He'd walk her down, then take a cab to work. As he shut the door on the empty apartment, the news relayed the events of the following night to the world.

Finally, as almost an afterthought, the anchor decided to add some news from New Mexico. "And finally, there has been some sort of crash in New Mexico yesterday, though we haven't managed to get any footage of it yet. It is unclear what the government intends to do about this, as no one has appeared on site yet..."

* * *

Michelle arrived at school on time, the classroom buzzing about the Stark expo. When she walked in, the room went silent enough to hear a pin drop. Michelle blushed, wondering why the whole room was staring.

"...what?" Michelle asked finally.

"Were you really at Stark Expo?" Meredith asked, speaking for the whole class.

Michelle looked down self-consciously and noticed for the first time bruises down her arms, realizing her face was bruised from impacting the concrete as well. Looking up again, she had the whole classroom's rapt attention. She nodded wordlessly.

Instantly, she was surrounded by concerned and curious classmates. One question that continued to be asked was "What happened? Will you tell us what you saw?" Michelle was suddenly the most popular kid in the entire class.

Michelle held up her hands, and the class went silent instantly. Whoa, this popular thing is pretty cool! "I'll tell you what happened if you'll all _sit down_!" Michelle said, wanting her personal space back. Silently, the teacher walked in, but she didn't make her presence known because she was curious as to why the whole class was looking, enraptured, at Michelle.

"So, my dad had VIP tickets, so I sat beside-*dramatic pause*-an assistant from Stark Industries." Cue anticlimactic letdown. "And beside her was Virginia Potts." Michelle added. Excited titters broke out from the girls, the dudes looking impressed. (For different reasons. The girls knew how important the CEO of Stark Industries was, and the guys just thought Virginia was hot.)

"The presentation was really boring." Michelle continued, utterly letting down the teacher because she wanted to know what the presentation was about. "Then ironman flew in,"

"You saw Ironman?" Interrupted a girl disbelievingly.

Michelle nodded. "and then..." Michelle took a deep breath, rattled by remembering. The class was just eating it up;watching the class's reactions was hilarious for the teacher. "One of the robots Justin Hammer was displaying fired into the crowd, separating my parents from me. When I looked up again, a robot had its target locked on me." She paused to take a breath, and the class was hanging on to every word. To be truthful, now Ms. O' Reilly was invested. "The Stark Industries assistant took it down -in heels, no less- and brought me back to my parents. She left quickly to go help Virginia, and my parents and I ran toward the parking lot. Just as we got there, Ironman, a silver ironman, and some more robots flew overhead."

Michelle paused again, shifting her weight, hating the memories. "Then the parking lot _exploded, _like, half a second after my dad got us to take cover. Our car was destroyed, so we had to walk home." Michelle concluded, looking around. That was about five minutes of English wasted, and Ms. O'Reilly wasn't about to let any more go by. She walked forward, the class instantly seeing her and stopping their discussion on Michelle's story. It would be all over the school by lunch; she'd be in the limelight for about a week.

"Are you okay, Michelle?" Ms. O'Reilly asked, and it was such a rarity to hear anything besides 'Now to English,' Michelle was surprised.

"Yes, I'm fine, other than a bunch of bruises." Michelle said.

"Okay, Now to English." Ms. O'Reilly continued. Ah, there it is. Michelle sat down, ignoring the furtive glances and whispers. For once, she just wanted some mediocre English class.

* * *

When Michelle got home, her mother was already there. Michelle sat down beside her, happy to see her again.

"Hey, Michelle," Angie said with a smile. "Your dad's working the late shift." She held up a stereotypical picnic basket. "Whaddaya say we go surprise him with an in-office picnic?"

"Awesome!" Michelle said, glad to go bring a smile to her dad.

A quick cab ride later, Michelle and Angie showed up at Will's office. He looked up from his mountain of paperwork, smiling at the sight of his family.

"I come bearing gifts." Angie said, holding out the picnic basket. Shoving aside the papers, the family gladly ate the food, happy just to be together. Maybe things could get back to normal...

* * *

_**...or maybe Manhattan will happen. **_

-JoMiSm


	4. Chapter 4

_**Leave for vacation tomorrow no wifi for five days no time to talk gotta type this in 1.5 hours GO!**_

* * *

_The next day, Social Studies. _

"And, because of some angry Norwegian transfer students, we are required to learn about Norse Mythology." Mrs. Jones, the social studies teacher, said. Michelle perked up while the other kids drooped. She loved mythology! Ask her anything!

"So, Class, we begin with Odin." She clicked her powerpoint controller. An old-fashioned drawing of a man with a white beard appeared. "He is the 'All-father,' the king of Asgard." the teacher said. Seeing the class zoning out, she pointed at Zane. "Zane, what is Asgard?"

Zane looked up sleepily. "Huh?"

The teacher rolled her eyes. "Anyone?" No one raised their hands. Michelle debated. Should she raise her hand and look like a nerd, or just let the teacher die inside thinking her students were completely ignoring her?

With a sigh, Michelle raised her hand. There was no contest.

"Michelle?" Mrs. Jones said, relieved.

To the almost imperceptible snickering of some classmates, Michelle answered. "Asgard is one of the nine realms, the one where the Gods live."

'_Anyone would know that. She doesn't really know anything.' _Amanda whispered to her friend behind Michelle. Michelle clenched a fist.

"And then there's Niflheim, the origin of all living and the place all living will return to, Muspelheim, land of evil fire giants and demons." Michelle continued, counting off on her fingers. "Helheim, the land of the dead, ruled by Hel. Midgard, that's Earth. Jotunheim, land of the Frost Giants. Loki, God of Trickery, is from there. Vanaheim is the land the older gods came from."

The teacher looked impressed and vaguely shocked.

"Alfheim is home of the good light elves, and svartalfheim is land of the dark elves, or dwarves." Michelle finished.

_You shouldn't turn around. _the tiny angel on her left shoulder warned.

**Amanda mocked you... You know you want to... **the itsy-bitsy devil mused.

Michelle chose her right shoulder, quickly turning and smirking at Amanda. Amanda glared back.

**Success! **She inwardly high-fived herself.

"Okay, Class, everyone thank Michelle. She just taught half of this month's lesson." Mrs. Jones said, sounding very impressed. The class perked up, shocked, and looked at Michelle. Simultaneous applause broke out, some cheering accompanying it-except Amanda and Jill, the two whispering girls behind our favorite child.

_Show off. _Jill whispered.

_Teacher's pet. _Amanda agreed.

Michelle sighed and looked back at the teacher, the applause dying down.

"Okay, one more thing after this, and then you can go...wander the halls or play on your phones or something." Mrs. Jones said, turning back to the board.

She is the best. *wipes tear from eye*

She clicked the PowerPoint controller again.

"Thor." said Mrs. Jones. "Norse god of Thunder. Fun fact," The guys groaned. "Thursday is named after him." That got some eyebrows raised. "The interesting thing about him is his weapon. A magical hammer named Mjolnir," started Mrs. Jones, before she was so RUDELY interrupted.

"He named his hammer?" Amanda asked, incredulous.

"Yes." Mrs. Jones said, glaring at Amanda for not raising her hand. "Mjolnir can summon lightning, but only those who are worthy can lift it." she said. She clicked the slide, showing a drawing from some time long ago, a hammer embedded in a rock.

"You will have a bit of homework tonight," *Groans from the class* "But it's just a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet, and you'll have a printout of this PowerPoint to go by." she added cheerfully. Michelle, Meredith, and a few others who realized how easy this homework would be, cheered.

"Okay, go...do something." Mrs. Jones said, shooing at the class with her hands. The class cheered, breaking out the cell phones and hacking the wifi password. It was the mascot of their school, with a capital letter, and an exclamation point. Wow. Hardcore password.

Michelle and Meredith took out matching copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, ignoring giggles from the girls behind them.

* * *

Later that day, Michelle sat, cross-legged on the couch. She was home alone, the news on in front of her, though she was ignoring the TV in favor of her homework.

"Thor, Asgard, Odin, Loki, Jotunheim, Mjolnir..." Michelle muttered, filling in blanks. Too easy. With a laugh, she looked up at the TV.

A blurry picture from New Mexico, according to the caption, was on the screen.

"Amateur pictures are coming in from New Mexico, though it is unknown what this item is." The anchor said. Michelle blinked, looking between her PowerPoint printout and the screen. Squint your eyes, tilt your head, imagine the printout in color, and it looked like the same thing; Mjolnir in a rock.

"...yeah, right. When goats fly."

...Michelle snickered at her joke that only nerds would get, going back to her homework.

* * *

_**WOO! GOAL MET! :) it's short, it's nerdy, it's informational... :D **_

_**-JoMiSm**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Sorry, it's been foreverrrr. **_

* * *

Michelle's mother and father arrived at the same time, both of them having been held up at work. With a smile at each other, Angie unlocked the door. Walking in, Will didn't call for his daughter as he usually did; it was ten o' clock, very, very late for them to get home.

Angie glanced into the living room, stifling a laugh at what she found. Michelle was curled up on the couch, pencil trailing down the almost completed homework. She clutched her social studies book to her chest like a teddy bear, smiling faintly.

Angie, with an amused sigh, picked up her daughter gently, trying not to disturb her peaceful sleep. She succeeded in keeping her asleep as she transported her to her bedroom, full of hot pink and zebra print, which was in at the time.

Michelle, with a small sigh, snuggled into the covers, hugging her teddy bear to her chest instinctively.

"Good night, Michelle." whispered Angie, with a kiss on the forehead for her daughter. Quietly, she left the room, walking back to her husband. "She's asleep." Angie said.

"Good." murmured Will, running a hand through his hair tiredly. "I'd hate it if she'd stayed up to wait for us."

"It looks like she tried." murmured Angie back, pulling down the ponytail she wore at work. "But she fell asleep on the couch." Will nodded, and with no other words to each other, they collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas, just taking off their shoes. "G'night." murmured Angie, already half asleep, exhausted from her long, long work day.

"Night." muttered William, his face half-buried in the pillow, also exhausted from staying so late.

They were both asleep in seconds.

* * *

Michelle awoke the next morning at six, habitually starting to get out of bed to get ready for school. Then she realized...it was Saturday! HOORAY! Michelle plopped back onto her bed with a happy, contented sigh. Saturday! Sleep-in day!

Angie, used to checking to see if her daughter was awake on time, awoke and looked at the clock. Six in the morning. She started toward the door, then realized...it's Saturday! NOOOO! She still had to go to work, but she also wouldn't get to see her daughter until she got home from work, as opposed to their usual morning conversation! With a sigh, she shook her husband's shoulder, then stood. They BOTH had to work on Saturday.

"Mmmmmmmft." groaned Will, his face in the pillow. Translation: Five more minutessss.

"Will. Up. Now." Angie commanded. Five more minutes in Will Land is an hour.

"Uuuuuuunnnnmmmmggg." moaned William. Translation: I'm up, I'm up!

Angie sighed. Sitting back down on the bed, she shoved against her husband's side, trying to shove him off the bed. Muffled, half asleep laughter met her ears. "Lay off the Twinkies." huffed Angie, crossing her arms, though her husband was skinny as a stick.

William chuckled, sitting up. Before he could say what he planned to, he was smacked in the face with a pillow. "Oomph! I'm up!" choked out William through the laughter. He halfway fell, halfway stepped out of bed.

"Mission accomplished!" Angie said with a serious tone, trying not to crack her fake-angry expression.

William sat in front of his wife with an apologetic expression that was so fake that Angie cracked a smile despite herself. "I sowee." He said pleadingly.

"Okay." Angie muttered. "You are forgiven."

With a grin, he tapped his cheek, as though for a kiss. Angie acted as though she would, but pulled away. "Go shave." she said, poking his cheek with a grin.

"Mean." William said with an injured look, but that got him fully out of bed. He headed toward the bathroom.

Angie ruffled through her scrubs. Care Bears, astronauts floating amongst the stars, flowers, fish, little band-aids and ice packs, Dora, hearts, smiling sunshines, birds, elephants, and snowflakes adorned her kid-day scrubs, while she also had a pink and blue pair for the days she had adult patients. It was her day for the children's ward, her favorite and least favorite day. She loved making children smile and brighten their day a little bit. She hated, HATED, seeing the kids in pain. With a sigh at that thought, Angie pulled out her outer-space themed scrubs. She was in the mood for story-telling today, and it's harder to story-tell if you have nothing to do it with. Besides, her stories cheered up the kiddies.

After William showered, Angie did too, but the similarities in their morning routine ended there. Angie pulled on her scrubs quickly, pulling up her hair and brushing her teeth all within five or so minutes. She didn't need, nor did she want, makeup. Done in less than ten minutes.

Will looked into his side of their closet, shuffling through his many, many shades of polo shirts, before deciding on the red one with a black decal. Then he looked through his khakis, ending up picking a pair of pants that looked the exact same as all of the rest to Angie, but Will insisted they were different. He put on his black shoes and belt, looking down at his outfit. Noticing his pants, he sighed.

Angie walked back into the bedroom, her husband in his underwear, ironing his pants. "What are you doing...?"

"Getting the crease in my pants. What are YOU doing?" William replied, teenage-girl fashion.

"Watching my husband be more fashion conscious than I am." Angie replied, leaning against the dresser and resting her chin on her fist, trying not to giggle.

William gave her a dry look, tilting his head at his handiwork. "How does this look?" He asked, holding up the pants. Angie took the iron from him, swiftly taking the khakis from him, and in two smooth strokes they were pleated.

"Here you go." Angie said with a grin, passing the perfectly pleated pants. (Try saying that five times fast.)

William, accepting the fact that ironing was not his forte, took the khakis sheepishly. Hopping on one foot, then the other, he pulled on his pants as Angie sat on the edge of the bed, amused at his pull-on-jeans hop-dance-thing.

More than half an hour after he'd begun, William tied the last shoelace. Angie, amused, looked up from her place on the couch when he walked into the living room. "Took you long enough." she laughed.

"Well, sorry, but everything has to be up to work's standard." Will protested.

Angie smoothed down his collar. "I know." she said, grabbing two sets of keys from the counter. She tossed one at him, and he caught them easily. They went into the hall, pausing to lock the door. A short elevator ride later, Angie and William parted ways. Will began walking toward his job, it being only a small ways away, and Angie hailed a cab, her job being further.

And so their busy day began.

* * *

Michelle awoke at seven thirty, stumbling in a blissful half-awake state to the kitchen. Blinking sleepily, she opened the cabinet. Oh. Bran flakes (EW.) , which were her fathers, and brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts inhabited the almost bare shelves. Michelle was almost positive her mother was the only one that liked those BLAND pop-tarts. She sighed at her parents icky choices. Then she perked up. It's Saturday! She knows what to do for breakfast!

After jumping into some clothes, Michelle knocked on her neighbor across the hall's door. It was promptly answered, because she'd been expecting her.

A little old lady, of no relation to Michelle, five feet tall (on the dot), stood at the door. Her white hair was pulled into a bun, her bifocals resting on the tip of her nose. She wore a T-shirt and cotton jeans that were older than Michelle and smelled like cookies. All of her granny-scented attire was covered in her faded floral print apron, and her wrinkled face was lit up with a grin. "Michelle!" the little old lady cried, holding her arms open for a hug.

"Gran!" Michelle said, taking the hug with a happy smile.

"Come in, dear, you're too thin! Don't they feed you over there? And so pale, are you feeling okay?" Gran prattled on, worrying for Michelle while gesturing with her big wooden spoon.

"I'm fine, Gran, don't worry." Michelle assured, heading toward the source of the heavenly smell filling the apartment.

"Well, come on, dear, and eat summa this food, I can't hardly make a dent in it." Gran said, guiding Michelle to the kitchen, sitting her down in a chair, and setting a plate in front of her. Bacon, eggs, homemade biscuits from scratch, a couple of pancakes, hash browns, and sausage were piled sky-high in front of her.

"Gran-!" Michelle protested, looking over her shoulder.

"Now, honey, I didn't know what you'd prefer, so I just made it all. Eat up." commanded Gran, pointing with the spoon.

Michelle dug in, happy she had such a... Southern... neighbor. She'd never really specified where exactly she was from, somewhere around Texas or Arkansas, but Michelle didn't ask. Gran'd tell her one a these days, and NOW SHE WAS THINKING IN SOUTHERN TERMS.

Michelle made a dent in the food, enough to satisfy Gran but not enough to make her feel yucky. "Thank you, Gran." Michelle said, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.

"Don't you start with that, now, it woulda just gone to the birds if you hadn't eaten it." Gran admonished, whisking away the plate.

Now, Gran had a dishwasher, but only because it came with the apartment. She grew up washing her dishes by hand, her kids were her dishwasher once she'd started her family, and when she moved to New York to be closer to her daughter, she fell back on the habit. "It's not gonna hurt me to wash 'em if it hasn't hurt me yet." Gran protested every time Michelle tried to convince her to use the washing machine. After finding this approach hopeless, Michelle joined in and took drying duty, and they became a great team.

Michelle went for her position with the dishrag handy, drying and putting away like a champ. They were done in no time at all, and they migrated to Gran's living room.

"Now, tell me, what'd ya do this week?" Gran asked, switching on her lamp and sitting in her rocking chair. Michelle sat on the easy chair across from her.

"Mm. Nothing much. I went to the Stark Expo." Michelle said.

"Stark Expo?" Gran asked, fishing through a bag next to her chair. Triumphantly, she pulled out her needle and thread. Interrupting what Michelle's response would've been, she said, "Michelle, dear, come thread this needle for me." while struggling to thread it herself.

Michelle took it from her, squinting at it and threading it with relative ease. "You don't know what Stark Expo is? Haven't you seen it on the news?" Michelle asked, handing the needle back to the little old lady.

"No, ain't nothin' but bad news on that show." Gran dismissed, picking up her sewing on her quilt. Lord, the thing had to be bigger than her at the moment!

"Oh." Michelle said.

"Well, ya gonna tell me 'fore I go deaf, too?" Gran asked, never looking up from her quilt. It was quite pretty; it had all kind of cutesy print, like polka dots and cupcakes. Hmmmm. Who could that be for...?

Michelle smiled. "Okay... Do you know who Anthony Stark is?"

"Mmm..." Gran murmured noncommittally. Just as Michelle drew in a breath to speak, Gran spoke up. "Is he related to Edward Stark?"

"Edward...Stark? You remember him?" Michelle asked, astonished.

"Sweetheart, I remember Captain America." Gran said, as though it was no big deal that she remembered the long-dead hero.

"Captain-no way! That's not possible!"

"Born in '27." Gran said with a chuckle.

Michelle absorbed this piece of information silently, shocked. She'd known she was old, just not THAT old. "...yeah, Gran, he's related to Edward Stark."

"Oh! Well, then, I know him. He was that little genius boy, wasn't he?" Gran said, looking back down at her quilt.

"Mm-hmm." Michelle said, snuggling into the floral print sofa cushions that you just couldn't find in the house of anyone under seventy. "Well, he has this thing called the Stark Expo, and..." Michelle trailed off. She didn't really know what it was for. "Um, I guess it's where Stark and other nerds show off their inventions."

"Show-and-tell for the 'nerds.' Got it. Go on." Gran said.

"Well, I went to the Expo because Daddy got tickets and I wanted to see ironman."

"Ironman?" Gran asked.

"It's a...it's a... Well, it's a suit of armor that Anthony Stark built. It can fly and fire these laser-thingies. WHY he built it is a really long story for another day." Michelle said, keeping it as simple as possible.

"Okay." Gran said. In her mind, it was a silver knight's suit of armor with a plane engine on the back, a kitty laser pointer in one hand and a sword in another. It didn't make sense to her, but she'd accepted the strangeness of Michelle's generation.

"Well, extremely long story short, the Expo was attacked by evil robots that Justin Hammer made." Michelle said, skirting around the details to spare her adopted grandma's nerves.

"Did any of them attack you? Are you okay? Are your parents alright?" Rapid-fire questions hit Michelle full force as Gran sat down her sewing, concerned.

"Um..." Michelle must have looked conflicted, because Gran spoke up.

"Now, don't you lie to me." Gran said warningly. "Or no dessert." Oh god, you can't just miss Gran's dessert. You do not simply miss Gran's dessert. She made CAKE this week. CHOCOLATY cake.

"Umm... Yes, one attacked me, BUT I'M FINE!" she yelled over Gran's worried remarks. "Mom and Dad are fine, I'm fine, we're all fine." Michelle assured her.

Gran sighed, looking over Michelle one last time to be sure. "Alrighty then, if you're sure you're okay..."

"I'm fine. Gran?"

"Yes, honey?" Gran replied.

"Will you teach me to sew?" Michelle asked, looking interestedly at Gran's newest project.

Gran looked surprised. "Okay. Come sit over here by me, and we'll get started."

The rest of Michelle's day was filled with sewing lessons, chocolate cake, and stories about Gran's childhood-but you can read any of my Michelle stories and see what Michelle does. Let's see what Angie did!

* * *

About the time Michelle was chowing down on chocolate cake, Angie was walking into her favorite patient's room.

"Hey, Lexi!" Angie greeted Alexandria, pushing a cart of medical supplies ahead of her.

The grey-eyed girl with soft orange, nearly blonde, hair looked up. "Angie!" she said happily, ignoring the cart. Being only five years of age, she focused more on the colorful outfit of her nurse. "Where's my medicine from today?"

Angie's heart crumpled up and died seeing the frail girl looking so hopeful at her silly tales. "Today? It's from Saturn!" Angie said in a voice full of wonder, pointing to the ringed planet on her shirt.

"Ooh, how'd you get medicine from Saturn?" Lexi said, playing along and pointedly ignoring the needle Angie was getting ready.

"Well," Angie started in a storytelling tone. "You see this guy?" She pointed to the astronaut floating on her shoulder. Alexandria nodded eagerly. "This guy right here, he heard that you were sick. But this guy knew where the medicine you needed was. You see, he was very, very brave. So, he told NASA and the government that there was a pretty little girl in Manhattan who needed help. They didn't want to build him a rocket at first, but then he showed them what you looked like. 'That's the most beautiful child we've ever seen!' they declared, and so they built the rocket."

Alexandria blushed faintly, an accomplishment considering how frail she was. "Go on." she encouraged, having been so enraptured that she missed the filling of the shot.

Angie smiled. "He flew through space, the stars blurring past his window, and he made it all the way to Jupiter without trouble. Then, these alien dudes," she pointed to a little green alien on her pants. Lexi pouted, sensing trouble. "No, no, don't worry, they weren't mean aliens. They just liked to play with their shrink-rays. So, right before the brave astronaut got the medicine, his ship and everything in it shrank down to...oh, this size." She held up the syringe, and Lexi didn't even flinch. "'Oh, no,' the astronaut said, 'but maybe this will be big enough...' He filled his rocket with just enough medicine, but then he couldn't fit inside!"

"Oh, no! Can he fly? Can he teleport?" Lexi asked, her eyes wide with horror. Don't let the brave astronaut in shining armor die!

"No, but there was one nice alien that approached him. 'I can help!' He said, and the astronaut hitched a ride on the alien's flying saucer, towing his rocket full of medicine. Early this morning, he ran up the stairs and bumped into me. It really hurt." Angie confided in her. Lexi giggled. "And you know what he gave me?"

"What?" Alexandria asked, struggling to sit up in excitement. Angie hid the tears in her eyes when the weak child actually managed to prop herself against the pillows with no help.

"His mini rocket ship, here to deliver the medicine." Angie whispered like it was the most top-secret thing in the universe, holding up the syringe. If you do look at it with some imagination, it can be a magic rocket.

"Woah." Lexi said, wide eyed. Angie nodded gravely. In a flash of bravery, Lexi stuck out her arm. "If he brought it all the way from Saturn... Go ahead." Angie smiled sadly at Alexandria before she quickly and as painlessly as possible gave the little girl the shot. Lexi cringed, and Angie pressed a bandaid over the new battle scar.

"Good job, Lexi." Angie said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Alexandria shifted down into the blankets, already drowsy from the meds.

"Angie," Alexandria murmured, looking up in a dazed way.

"Yes?" Angie asked, smoothing the girl's hair and pulling up the thin covers.

"I love you." Lexi murmured. "...and I'm cold." A common occurrence. The hospital was kept cold to freeze the germs, and Lexi stayed sick so constantly that her body temperature was low.

Angie _fwoosh_ed another blanket over the five year old. "Better?" Lexi nodded sleepily. "Good. I love you, too." Angie added softly. Lexi was already asleep before she made the door.

Angie wiped tears from her eyes in the hall, earning a few sympathetic looks from other nurses. They all loved the kids, but Alexandria... Lexi's condition...

Short of a miracle, she wouldn't live to see six.

* * *

_**Almost 3.5 thousand words! I love you all. Review on this momentous occasion!**_

_**-JoMiSm**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**FIRST ONE TO REVIEW WITH THE CODE WORD: SPIDER, GETS TO CHOOSE THE NEXT STORY I UPDATE! **_

Michelle hugged Gran goodbye at her door. Gran was still protesting. "Now, honey, you know I don't like you goin' home to that empty apartment." Gran chided.

"I know, I know, but I'll be fine, Gran." Michelle said reassuringly, backing toward her door.

"And you won't-" Gran began. Oh, here we go again.

"Open the door to strangers, or answer the phone if it's not you or mom or daddy, or go set the apartment on fire, or play in the knife drawer." Michelle said. Yes, she's been through this too many times.

"You think I'm joking, hon, but this is important." Gran said seriously. It freaked her out, a little girl alone in an apartment, the only other person on the floor an old woman.

"Okay, okay, Gran, I'll be careful." Michelle promised, giving Gran a final kiss on the cheek. Finally, she made it through her door, laughing softly at Gran's worries. She'd been staying home for quite a little while now.

Actually, at this time, Michelle isn't quite eight. Her birthday is a little while after school ends. Another thing-school ending! School is OVER on Tuesday! Michelle had that thought in her mind as she closed the door. She would miss her friends, of course, but she had a phone. A really good phone, in fact. When she started getting left home alone, her parents needed a way to contact her at any time, and vice versa. So, voila, she gets a really nice smartphone, because they KNEW she would be responsible with it. Besides, if you start off with a good phone, you don't have to buy her a new one next year or something.

Michelle sat in front of the TV, trying to be a normal child and tune out the world. After five minutes of 'The Fairly Odd Parents,' she sighed and clicked off the television. She wanted to DO something, but she couldn't leave the apartment. She sat, thinking, and no lightbulb popped up above her head.

She glanced at the items in the room. Her mom's tidy stack of magazines sat on the table. Those were old, though; she saved the kid appropriate ones, like Justice, for Michelle to look at. A few stray pipe-cleaners were scattered on the table, disrupting the neat appearance. Michelle'd left them there from a previous art project. Michelle sighed and looked at the side table. A vase of flowers was the only thing on it.

THERE is the lightbulb.

Michelle grabbed a Better Homes and Gardens magazine from the bottom of the stack, grabbing the stray pipe cleaners on the way. When she made it to her playroom, she got down the tape and scissors.

Her parents were due home anytime from this point in time to an hour later, so Michelle quickly but carefully tried her idea, grinning in success when she did it. A little flower, each petal cut individually and held together with unseen tape, was made.

Michelle continued, using pipe cleaners as stems, and she ended up with a cute little bouquet before she heard a key scraping in the lock. She jumped up, finishing the bow quickly, and ran to the door.

Her mother opened it, looking curious at Michelle's excitement. Michelle was holding something in an obvious way behind her back. "I have a surprise for you!" Michelle chirped excitedly.

"Really...?" Angie asked, theatrically trying to peek over her daughter's shoulder at the gift. Michelle laughed and held out the cute little artsy bouquet. The flowers were tied together at the stems by a pink ribbon, tied in a bow.

"Oh, Michelle, they're beautiful!" Angie proclaimed, pretending to sniff the flowers.

Michelle laughed. "Thanks, mom! How was your day at work?" she asked with a smile.

Alexandria. A paralyzing wave of sadness washed over Angie, but she smiled at her daughter. "Good, how was your day?" Angie forced herself to sound cheerful, though she can't shake the image of Alexandria and the rest of her patients.

Michelle didn't notice; her mother had hidden her stress from work for all of Michelle's young life. While Michelle chattered about her day with Gran, Angie started on dinner absentmindedly.

Angie suddenly remembered something she meant to tell Michelle, and it brought a smile, diminishing the sadness, at least a little bit. "Hey, Michelle?" Michelle looked up from her spot at the kitchen table at the mention of her name. "Guess what day is coming up?"

Michelle thought for a moment. A moment later, her face lit up. "Is it what I think it is?!" Michelle excitedly asked.

Angie smiled, pausing in her work with dinner and turning to look at her daughter. "It is!" Angie said, ready to gauge her daughter's excitement, from 'omg!' To 'OMIGERD AHDKNEJSKDNE-!'

Michelle jumped out of her chair, bouncing around the room happily and already asking about a zillion questions. Oh yeah. 'OMIGERD AHDKNESKDNE-!" Level.

Michelle paused, holding out her hands to her mom. Angie grinned back at her daughter, taking her hands.

Half a minute later, Will walked in, unnoticed, to an adorable scene. Michelle and Angie were doing the patented girl happy-jump, Angie giggling like she was one of Michelle's friends. When they collapsed to the floor in laughter, William stepped forward from the doorway.

"Daddy!" Michelle darted up from her position on the floor, crashing into her father with a hug.

"Group hug!" Angie proclaimed, and she followed suit by bounding over to the pair without knocking the wind out of Will as Michelle had.

The family stood, laughing and hugging, and Angie managed to let go of the sadness of her job because of the joy of her family.

* * *

_**And happily ever after. **_

_**Not really. **_

_**Some people are gifted with a happy ending to their lifetime story.**_

_**Most people are written a cliched happy ending, especially in these kind of fictions. **_

_**Michelle does not get a happy ending. **_

_**Will does not get a happy ending. **_

_**Angie**_

_**does**_

_**not**_

_**get**_

_**a**_

_**happy**_

_**ending. **_


End file.
